Wings beat Sharks, force Game 7
Ruslan Salei #24 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates a third period goal by Valtteri Filppula #51 with teammates while playing the San Jose Sharks in Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. (May 10, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula scored less than two minutes apart in the third period, and the Detroit Red Wings rallied again for a 3-1 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks last night, forcing a deciding seventh game after trailing 3-0 in the pulsating second-round series.
San Jose will defend home ice tomorrow night to avoid becoming the fourth NHL team to lose a best-of-seven series after leading 3-0. San Jose's Logan Couture scored early in the third period, but Zetterberg tied it with 9:22 remaining, and Filppula scored the winner with 7:28 left. Darren Helm added an empty-net goal.
Skating with confidence and desperation, the Red Wings outshot San Jose 45-25, but they were on the verge of elimination after Couture batted a rebound out of midair and the puck trickled past goalie Jimmy Howard with 16:06 remaining. The puck barely crossed the goal line before Howard covered it with his glove, but the goal stood after a review.
Zetterberg tied it by deflecting a wrist shot by Niklas Kronwall past goalie Antti Niemi, and the Sharks never regained momentum. Filppula put Detroit ahead, converting a nice cross-ice pass by Pavel Datsyuk. -- AP
